US8746827B2 - Ink jet apparatus - Google Patents
Ink jet apparatus Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US8746827B2 US8746827B2 US11/150,791 US15079105A US8746827B2 US 8746827 B2 US8746827 B2 US 8746827B2 US 15079105 A US15079105 A US 15079105A US 8746827 B2 US8746827 B2 US 8746827B2
- Authority
- US
- United States
- Prior art keywords
- pulse
- polarity
- drop
- emitting device
- segment
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Active, expires
Links
- 238000010304 firing Methods 0.000 claims description 18
- 230000005499 meniscus Effects 0.000 claims description 4
- 238000007639 printing Methods 0.000 claims description 3
- 230000003247 decreasing effect Effects 0.000 claims 3
- 238000010586 diagram Methods 0.000 description 6
- 230000007704 transition Effects 0.000 description 3
- 238000005452 bending Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000005516 engineering process Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000012986 modification Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000004048 modification Effects 0.000 description 1
- 239000007787 solid Substances 0.000 description 1
- 229910001220 stainless steel Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 239000010935 stainless steel Substances 0.000 description 1
Images
Classifications
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
- B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
- B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
- B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
- B41J2/01—Ink jet
- B41J2/015—Ink jet characterised by the jet generation process
- B41J2/04—Ink jet characterised by the jet generation process generating single droplets or particles on demand
- B41J2/045—Ink jet characterised by the jet generation process generating single droplets or particles on demand by pressure, e.g. electromechanical transducers
- B41J2/04501—Control methods or devices therefor, e.g. driver circuits, control circuits
- B41J2/04588—Control methods or devices therefor, e.g. driver circuits, control circuits using a specific waveform
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
- B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
- B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
- B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
- B41J2/01—Ink jet
- B41J2/015—Ink jet characterised by the jet generation process
- B41J2/04—Ink jet characterised by the jet generation process generating single droplets or particles on demand
- B41J2/045—Ink jet characterised by the jet generation process generating single droplets or particles on demand by pressure, e.g. electromechanical transducers
- B41J2/04501—Control methods or devices therefor, e.g. driver circuits, control circuits
- B41J2/04581—Control methods or devices therefor, e.g. driver circuits, control circuits controlling heads based on piezoelectric elements
Definitions
- the subject disclosure is generally directed to drop generating apparatus.
- Drop on demand ink jet technology for producing printed media has been employed in commercial products such as printers, plotters, and facsimile machines.
- an ink jet image is formed by selective placement on a receiver surface of ink drops emitted by a plurality of drop generators implemented in a printhead or a printhead assembly.
- the printhead assembly and the receiver surface are caused to move relative to each other, and drop generators are controlled to emit drops at appropriate times, for example by an appropriate controller.
- the receiver surface can be a transfer surface or a print medium such as paper. In the case of a transfer surface, the image printed thereon is subsequently transferred to an output print medium such as paper.
- a known ink jet drop generator structure employs an electromechanical transducer to displace ink from an ink chamber into a drop forming outlet passage, and it can be difficult to control drop velocity and/or drop mass.
- FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of a drop-on-demand drop emitting apparatus.
- FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of a drop generator that can be employed in the drop emitting apparatus of FIG. 1 .
- FIG. 3 is a schematic depiction of an embodiment of a drive signal that can be employed to drive the drop generator of FIG. 2 .
- FIG. 4 is a schematic depiction of another embodiment of a drive signal that can be employed to drive the drop generator of FIG. 2 .
- FIG. 1 is schematic block diagram of an embodiment of a drop-on-demand printing apparatus that includes a controller 10 and a printhead assembly 20 that can include a plurality of drop emitting drop generators.
- the controller 10 selectively energizes the drop generators by providing a respective drive signal to each drop generator.
- Each of the drop generators can employ a piezoelectric transducer.
- each of the drop generators can employ a shear-mode transducer, an annular constrictive transducer, an electrostrictive transducer, an electromagnetic transducer, or a magnetorestrictive transducer.
- the printhead assembly 20 can be formed of a stack of laminated sheets or plates, such as of stainless steel.
- FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of a drop generator 30 that can be employed in the printhead assembly 20 of the printing apparatus shown in FIG. 1 .
- the drop generator 30 includes an inlet channel 31 that receives ink 33 from a manifold, reservoir or other ink containing structure.
- the ink 33 flows into a pressure or pump chamber 35 that is bounded on one side, for example, by a flexible diaphragm 37 .
- An electromechanical transducer 39 is attached to the flexible diaphragm 37 and can overlie the pressure chamber 35 , for example.
- the electromechanical transducer 39 can be a piezoelectric transducer that includes a piezo element 41 disposed for example between electrodes 43 that receive drop firing and non-firing signals from the controller 10 .
- Actuation of the electromechanical transducer 39 causes ink to flow from the pressure chamber 35 to a drop forming outlet channel 45 , from which an ink drop 49 is emitted toward a receiver medium 48 that can be a transfer surface, for example.
- the outlet channel 45 can include a nozzle or orifice 47 .
- the ink 33 can be melted or phase changed solid ink, and the electromechanical transducer 39 can be a piezoelectric transducer that is operated in a bending mode, for example.
- FIGS. 3 and 4 are schematic diagrams of embodiments of a drive drop firing signal or waveform 51 that is provided to the printhead during a firing interval T to cause an ink drop to be emitted.
- the time varying drop firing waveform 51 is shaped or configured to actuate the electromechanical transducer such that the drop generator emits an ink drop.
- the duration of the waveform 51 can be less than the firing interval T.
- the firing interval T can be in the range of about 100 microseconds to about 25 microseconds, such that the drop generator can be operated at a drop firing frequency in the range of about 10 KHz to about 40 KHz for the example wherein the firing interval T is substantially equal to the reciprocal of the drop firing frequency.
- the total duration of the waveform 51 can be in the range of about 20 microseconds to about 30 microseconds, for example.
- the drop firing waveform 51 can be a bi-polar voltage signal having in sequence a positive pulse component 61 , a first negative pulse component 71 , a DELAY, and a second negative pulse 72 component.
- the pulses are negative or positive relative to a reference such as zero volts.
- Each pulse is characterized by a pulse duration DP, DN 1 , DN 2 which for convenience is measured between the pulse transition times (i.e., the transition from the reference and the transition to the reference).
- Each pulse is also characterized by a peak pulse magnitude MP, MN 1 , and MN 2 which herein is a positive number.
- the positive pulse 61 can have a duration DP in the range of about 10 microseconds to about 16 microseconds.
- the first negative pulse 71 can have a duration DN 1 in the range of about 3 microseconds to about 7 microseconds.
- the second negative pulse 72 can have a duration DN 2 in the range of about 7 microseconds to about 12 microseconds.
- the positive pulse 61 can have a duration that is greater than the duration DN 1 of the first negative pulse 71 and less than or greater than the duration DN 2 of the second negative pulse 72 .
- the duration DN 2 of the second negative pulse 72 can be greater than the duration DN 1 of the first negative pulse 71 .
- the durations DN 1 , DN 2 of the first and second negative pulses 71 , 72 can be similar.
- the positive pulse 61 can have a peak magnitude MP in the range of about 33 volts to about 47 volts.
- the peak magnitude MP of the positive pulse 61 can be about 39 volts or less.
- the positive pulse 61 can include for example four segments: a first positive going segment 61 A, a second positive going segment 61 B, a substantially constant level segment 61 C, and a negative going segment 61 D.
- the first positive going segment 61 A is steeper than the second positive going segment 61 B.
- the first negative pulse 71 can have a peak magnitude MN 1 in the range of about 30 volts to about 47 volts.
- the peak magnitude MN 1 of the first negative pulse 71 can be about 35 volts or less.
- the first negative pulse 71 can have a peak magnitude MN 1 that is less than the peak magnitude MP of the positive pulse 61 .
- the first negative pulse 71 can include for example four segments: a first negative going segment 71 A, a second negative going segment 71 B, a substantially constant level segment 71 C, and a positive going segment 71 D.
- the first negative going segment 71 A is steeper than the second negative going segment 71 A.
- the substantially constant level segment 71 C can be shorter than the substantially constant level segment 61 C of the positive pulse 61 .
- the second negative pulse 72 can have a peak magnitude MN 2 that is in the range of about 15 volts to about 47 volts.
- the peak magnitude MN 2 of the second negative pulse 72 can be about 22 volts or less.
- the second negative pulse 72 can have a peak magnitude MN 2 that is less than the peak magnitude MP of the positive pulse 61 and is less than the peak magnitude MN 1 of the first negative pulse 61 .
- the second negative pulse 72 can be generally trapezoidal ( FIG. 4 ), for example, and can include a first negative going segment 72 A, a first substantially constant segment 72 B, a high frequency sub-pulse 72 C, a second substantially constant segment 72 D, and a positive going segment 72 E.
- the high frequency sub-pulse 72 C includes in series a positive going segment, a negative going segment and a positive going segment.
- the high frequency sub-pulse 72 C can have a frequency that is greater than about 75 KHz, and an amplitude of up to 15 volts relative to the substantially constant voltage segments 72 B, 72 D.
- the first and second substantially constant voltage segments 72 B, 72 D can be of different voltages.
- the positive pulse 61 and the first negative pulse 71 cause a drop to be emitted by varying the volume of the pressure chamber 35 ( FIG. 2 ).
- the second negative pulse 72 occurs after a drop is emitted and can function to reset the drop generator so that subsequent drops have substantially the same or greater mass and substantially the same velocity as the drop just emitted.
- the second negative pulse 72 is of the same polarity as the preceding first negative pulse 71 , so that the final segment 72 E can tend to pull the meniscus at the nozzle 47 inwardly to help prevent the meniscus from breaking. If the meniscus breaks and ink oozes out of the nozzle, the drop generator can fail to emit drops on subsequent firings.
- the DELAY between the first negative pulse 71 and the second negative pulse 72 can be in the range of about 1 microsecond to about 4 microseconds.
- the shape of the second negative pulse 72 can be selected such that (1) the correct amount of energy will be applied by the second negative pulse to cancel the residual energy that remains in the drop generator after a drop is emitted, (2) the second negative pulse will not itself fire a drop, and (3) the drop generator will not ingest an air bubble through the nozzle.
- the waveform 51 comprises, in sequence, a first pulse having a first polarity, a second pulse having a second polarity, a delay, and a third pulse having the second polarity.
- FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a drive drop firing signal or waveform 51 that are of an opposite polarity from the waveform of FIG. 3 .
- the waveform of FIG. 4 comprises a negative going pulse 61 , a first positive going pulse 71 , a DELAY, and a second positive going pulse 72 .
- the durations DN, DP 1 , DP 2 and magnitudes MN, MP 1 , MP 2 of the pulses of the waveform of FIG. 4 can be substantially the same as the durations DP, DN 1 , DN 2 and magnitudes MP, MN 1 , MN 2 of corresponding pulses in the waveform of FIG. 3 .
- the negative going pulse 61 can include for example four segments: a first negative going segment 61 A, a second negative going segment 61 B, a substantially constant level segment 61 C, and a positive going segment 61 D.
- the first negative going segment 61 A is steeper than the second negative going segment 61 B.
- the first positive pulse 71 can include for example four segments: a first positive going segment 71 A, a second positive going segment 71 B, a substantially constant level segment 71 C, and a negative going segment 71 D.
- the first positive going segment 71 A is steeper than the second positive going segment 71 A.
- the substantially constant level segment 71 C can be shorter than the substantially constant level segment 61 C of the negative pulse 61 .
- the second positive pulse 72 can be generally trapezoidal and can include a first positive going segment 72 A, a first substantially constant segment 72 B, a high frequency segment 72 C, a second substantially constant voltage segment 72 D, and a negative going segment 72 E.
- the first and second substantially constant voltage components can be of different voltages, while the high frequency segment 72 C can have a frequency that is greater than about 75 KHz.
Landscapes
- Particle Formation And Scattering Control In Inkjet Printers (AREA)
Abstract
Description
Claims (22)
Priority Applications (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US11/150,791 US8746827B2 (en) | 2005-06-09 | 2005-06-09 | Ink jet apparatus |
JP2006154810A JP2006341606A (en) | 2005-06-09 | 2006-06-02 | Inkjet apparatus |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US11/150,791 US8746827B2 (en) | 2005-06-09 | 2005-06-09 | Ink jet apparatus |
Publications (2)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
US20060279593A1 US20060279593A1 (en) | 2006-12-14 |
US8746827B2 true US8746827B2 (en) | 2014-06-10 |
Family
ID=37523727
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US11/150,791 Active 2026-10-31 US8746827B2 (en) | 2005-06-09 | 2005-06-09 | Ink jet apparatus |
Country Status (2)
Country | Link |
---|---|
US (1) | US8746827B2 (en) |
JP (1) | JP2006341606A (en) |
Families Citing this family (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US8057003B2 (en) | 2008-05-23 | 2011-11-15 | Fujifilm Dimatix, Inc. | Method and apparatus to provide variable drop size ejection with a low power waveform |
CN107051805B (en) * | 2017-01-09 | 2020-07-10 | 上海交通大学 | Multi-excitation vibration liquid drop generator device |
Citations (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US6312077B1 (en) * | 1998-11-25 | 2001-11-06 | Nec Corporation | Ink jet printer and ink jet printing method |
US20050093903A1 (en) | 2003-11-05 | 2005-05-05 | Xerox Corporation | Ink jet apparatus |
Family Cites Families (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
JP2000255062A (en) * | 1999-03-11 | 2000-09-19 | Nec Corp | Method for driving ink-jet recording head and ink-jet recording apparatus |
JP3467570B2 (en) * | 2000-08-04 | 2003-11-17 | セイコーエプソン株式会社 | Liquid ejecting apparatus and driving method of liquid ejecting apparatus |
-
2005
- 2005-06-09 US US11/150,791 patent/US8746827B2/en active Active
-
2006
- 2006-06-02 JP JP2006154810A patent/JP2006341606A/en active Pending
Patent Citations (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US6312077B1 (en) * | 1998-11-25 | 2001-11-06 | Nec Corporation | Ink jet printer and ink jet printing method |
US20050093903A1 (en) | 2003-11-05 | 2005-05-05 | Xerox Corporation | Ink jet apparatus |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
JP2006341606A (en) | 2006-12-21 |
US20060279593A1 (en) | 2006-12-14 |
Similar Documents
Publication | Publication Date | Title |
---|---|---|
US7681971B2 (en) | Ink jet apparatus | |
US6857715B2 (en) | Ink jet apparatus | |
JP4251912B2 (en) | Image forming apparatus | |
US7021733B2 (en) | Ink jet apparatus | |
EP3744524B1 (en) | Methods, systems, and apparatuses for improving drop velocity uniformity, drop mass uniformity, and drop formation | |
JP2005014431A (en) | Image forming apparatus | |
US8851602B2 (en) | Liquid ejecting apparatus | |
US8403440B2 (en) | Driving waveform for drop mass and position | |
US8746827B2 (en) | Ink jet apparatus | |
US20130222453A1 (en) | Drop generator and poling waveform applied thereto | |
US20070024651A1 (en) | Ink jet printing | |
JP2010143020A (en) | Liquid droplet delivering apparatus, liquid droplet delivering method, and image forming apparatus | |
US7055939B2 (en) | Drop generator | |
US20060284936A1 (en) | Drop Generator | |
JP2004017630A (en) | Ink jet head and ink jet recording device | |
KR20120026814A (en) | Piezo-electric inkjet print head and apparatus for driving said print head | |
JP2010036387A (en) | Inkjet recording device |
Legal Events
Date | Code | Title | Description |
---|---|---|---|
AS | Assignment |
Owner name: XEROX CORPORATION, CONNECTICUT Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:DARLING, DOUGLAS D.;REEL/FRAME:016691/0955 Effective date: 20050609 |
|
FEPP | Fee payment procedure |
Free format text: PAYOR NUMBER ASSIGNED (ORIGINAL EVENT CODE: ASPN); ENTITY STATUS OF PATENT OWNER: LARGE ENTITY |
|
STCF | Information on status: patent grant |
Free format text: PATENTED CASE |
|
MAFP | Maintenance fee payment |
Free format text: PAYMENT OF MAINTENANCE FEE, 4TH YEAR, LARGE ENTITY (ORIGINAL EVENT CODE: M1551) Year of fee payment: 4 |
|
MAFP | Maintenance fee payment |
Free format text: PAYMENT OF MAINTENANCE FEE, 8TH YEAR, LARGE ENTITY (ORIGINAL EVENT CODE: M1552); ENTITY STATUS OF PATENT OWNER: LARGE ENTITY Year of fee payment: 8 |
|
AS | Assignment |
Owner name: CITIBANK, N.A., AS AGENT, DELAWARE Free format text: SECURITY INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:XEROX CORPORATION;REEL/FRAME:062740/0214 Effective date: 20221107 |
|
AS | Assignment |
Owner name: XEROX CORPORATION, CONNECTICUT Free format text: RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST IN PATENTS AT R/F 062740/0214;ASSIGNOR:CITIBANK, N.A., AS AGENT;REEL/FRAME:063694/0122 Effective date: 20230517 |
|
AS | Assignment |
Owner name: CITIBANK, N.A., AS COLLATERAL AGENT, NEW YORK Free format text: SECURITY INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:XEROX CORPORATION;REEL/FRAME:064760/0389 Effective date: 20230621 |
|
AS | Assignment |
Owner name: JEFFERIES FINANCE LLC, AS COLLATERAL AGENT, NEW YORK Free format text: SECURITY INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:XEROX CORPORATION;REEL/FRAME:065628/0019 Effective date: 20231117 |
|
AS | Assignment |
Owner name: XEROX CORPORATION, CONNECTICUT Free format text: TERMINATION AND RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST IN PATENTS RECORDED AT RF 064760/0389;ASSIGNOR:CITIBANK, N.A., AS COLLATERAL AGENT;REEL/FRAME:068261/0001 Effective date: 20240206 Owner name: CITIBANK, N.A., AS COLLATERAL AGENT, NEW YORK Free format text: SECURITY INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:XEROX CORPORATION;REEL/FRAME:066741/0001 Effective date: 20240206 |